Happy Birthday Canada

     Hubby and I set out early yesterday, after seeing that the dogs would be comfortable for the day, outside in their pen. We arrived at the waterfront in Dartmouth early enough to scout out a good spot for our stall and set up for a sunny, hot and busy day. There was a lot of traffic through our area and I'm happy to report that the purse has a bit more jingle today. I brought my Ashford Kiwi and demonstrated spinning throughout the day. We were fortunate enough to have the East Indian lady set up not far away from us so we partook of lovely authentic vegetarian delicacies for lunch. Hubby was a bit disappointed in his sales, but I did notice that the only products which were actually moving were lower priced, and much smaller items. There were lots of lookers and I was very surprised to note how many people had never seen someone actually use a wheel before. All in all, I would call the day a success. I'm still worn out from all the sun and crowds. My nerves are somewhat better now. Shortly after we set up, a couple of children's entertainers parked right beside us with their temporary tattoos, juggling acts and balloon creations. The combination of hot sun and rough concrete surface underfoot made for a lot of burst balloons! I felt like I was sitting on a rifle range! Well, at least it kept the kiddies happy. 

Felted FiberFish

    


      Here is the finished Fiberfish. He's actually very handsome and has lots of bling thanks to the many, many beads and crystals adorning his fins and gills. This is my first project of this kind and he was, admittedly, a challenge. I first had to figure out how to make his fins and gills, which I ended up doing separately, then needle felting them to the body. The rest was done in one seamless piece using resists ... note the plural ... as there were separate ones for the dorsal fins and the tail, then a space before the body resist. Yes, he was an engineering challenge to begin with. The material is an art batt I received as a trade from Linda Koch. It was amazing as it contained tons of different fibers, a great deal of which were synthetic, so felting was going to be difficult. I underlayered it with the bright blue as I wanted a contrast. That was Corridale roving. After the wet felting process was taken as far as it would go, I blocked it out and stuffed it with plastic bags, added the fins and gill and worked on the beading while it dried. It hangs in my front window now, and Don came up with the idea that since there are five panels to that window, I should do an installment of five sea creatures hanging there to simulate an fantasy aquarium. I think he's on to something there as I've been giving it some serious thought and I really want to take this a bit farther anyway. I've been thinking about a jellyfish which would give me practice in making thin coiled ropes. Perhaps later on, some aquatic plants or other undersea life. I find it an inspiring concept, so I think after the craft show next month, I'll be delving into this project if I'm not too swamped with Christmas commissions. 


     And speaking of the craft show: